Writing instrument



INVENTOR.

RICHARD J. MANSHE/M am @9:5

United States Patent O WRITING lNSTRUMENT Richard J. Mansheim, FortMadison, Iowa, assignor to W. A. Sheafer Pen Company, Fort Madison,Iowa, a corporation of Delaware Application February 25, 1957, SerialNo. 642,176

7 Claims. (Cl. 1Z0-45.4)

This invention relates to writing instruments and has special referenceto a writing instrument of the fountain pen type having an extensiblecarrier member adapted to removably receive a writing fluid cartridge. v

More particularly, this invention relates to a fountain pen comprising abarrel having an open end, a writing element extending forwardly of thebarrel, and a carrier member telescopically mounted within the barreland extensible through the open end, there being a writing fluidcartridge carried by the carrier member and removably received thereinwhen the carrier is extended, and means providing fluid communicationbetween the cartridge and the writing element when the carrier isretracted.

When filling the usual type of fountain pen having a lever or plungeractuated filling device disposed internally of the pen barrel, it isnormally necessaryto c ompletely immerse the entire writing element in abody of writing uid to insure that a full charge of iiuid is drawn intothe reservoir and to exclude the inadvertent entry of air thereinto.Thus, a quantity of fluid usually adheres to the writing element andgripping section of the pen after the filling operation, and it isnecessary for the user to remove this fluid with a tissue or cloth toprevent it from blotting the writing surface or soiling his hands duringsubsequent use. Also, to insure proper functioning of the penimmediately after filling, the expansion chambers should be drained ofsubstantially all excess fluid.

Writing fluid is normally obtained by the user in a container or bottlewhich holds a quantity of fluid sufficient to lill a fountain penseveral times. Thus, it is necessary for the user to remove and replacethe cap or closure of the container each time that a fountain pen is tobe filled, and this requires very careful handling to prevent accidentalspillage of fluid. In addition, the usual writing fluid container ismade of glass or a similar material and care must be taken, even whenthe container is closed, to insure against its being dropped or broken.

These problems have long been recognized in the art and varioussuggestions have been made for their solution. For example, it has beenproposed to provide a fountain pen having a removable portion such asthe barrel and adapted to receive a disposable cartridge which containsa charge of writing uid. However, with a pen of this type, sometimesreferred to as a cartridge pen, it is necessary to separate the barrel,or a portion thereof, from the writing element. In some instances, theseparated portion may be dropped or misplaced, or the threads used tohold it to the balance of the pen might inadvertently be stripped if theuser does not carefully align the parts during re-assembly of the penafter inserting a fresh cartridge.

The present invention discloses a fountain pen of the type adapted toreceive a disposable writing fluid cartridge, but having an improvedmeans of conveniently inserting and removing the writing fluidcartridge, whereby it is not necessary to dismantle the pen at any timeduring the filling operation.

2,919,677 Patented Jan. 5, 1960 Accordingly, it is one of the objects ofvthis'invention to provide a fountain pen which eliminates the necessityof immersing the writing element in a body of uidduring the fillingoperation, and the need of subsequently removing excess fluid therefrom.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fountain pen which doesnot require the use of a container holding a larger body of writingfluid than is to be inserted into the pen during the filling operation.

A further object of this invention `is the provision of a fountain penwhich is adapted to removably receive a substantially unbreakablewriting uid cartridge.

An additional object of this invention is the provision of a fountainpen of thecartridge type which does not have to be dis-assembled duringthe filling operation.

A still further object of this invention'is to'provide a fountain penhaving a carrier member for removably receiving a writing fluidcartridge, and for positioning the cartridge within the barrel incommunication with the writing element. v

Another object of this invention is to provide a fountain pen of thecartridge typeV in which a portion of the writing fluid cartridge isautomatically positioned` externally of the pen for convenient removalprior to insertion of a fresh cartridge.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a fountainpen of the cartridge type which requires few parts, which maybe simplyand ruggedly constructed, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and whichmay be filled readily, safely and conveniently without undue care on thepart of the user.- l Y Further and additional objectsQ of this inventionwill vbe apparent from the following description, when taken with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fountain pen embodyingthis invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentaryv view of the rearward portion of theembodiment of Figure l showing a change m position during the fillingoperation; p

Fig. -3 is a sectional View taken along the of Figure l; and

Fig. 4, is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 line 3-3 y ofFigure 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the present inventionis shown as being embodied in -a fountain pen comprising a barrel 10which is preferably formed of a substantially unbreakable rigidmaterial, such as plastic, having good dimensional stability and a lustrous and long wearing surface. A writing element 11 is threadedlysecured to the forward end of -the barrel 10 and in axial alignmenttherewith. The Writing element 11 comprises a gripping section 12, afeed bar 13, which may be made of a relatively rigid plastic or rubbermateria1, a point holder 14 and a pen point 15. yThe pen point 15, inthe embodiment shown, is generally conical in configuration and includesan internally threaded portion on its rearward end for engagement withthe point holder 14, a capillary slit 16 and a writing tip 17. The feedbar 13 includes a longitudinal bore 18 in communication with a capillaryfissure 19 which extends substantially the length of the feed bar tointersect and connect all of the comb cuts 30, which are described inmore detail hereinafter. As is well understood in the art, the forwardend of the fissure 19 should be positioned adjacent the capillary slit16 in the pen point 15 to estab-'- The writing uid reservoir is providedin the form of a sealed cartridge 24 positioned in the barrel 10 andpreferably having a pierceable diaphragm on its forward end. To providefluid communication between the interior of the cartridge 24 and thewriting element 11, means comprising a rigid tube is frictionally pushedin an axial bore which extends through the rearward wall of the grippingsection 12. The tube 25 has on its forward end an enlarged ange portion22 which is seated upon a shoulder 21 formed by the axial bores ofdifferent diameters in gripping section 12. A centrally apertured gasket23 formed of resilient non-porous material abuts the flange 22 and, inturn, is abutted by the rearward end of the feed bar 13 and grippingsection 12. This provides a fluid tight relationship between the writingelement 11 and barrel 10, except through the tube 25 which is tapered onits rearward end for a purpose described hereinafter.

An insert 26 is secured in tube 25 and extends forwardly thereof toadjacent the forward end of the bore 1S in feed bar 13. As can be bestseen in Fig. 4, the insert 26 has a uid feeding channel 27 whichprovides a passageway from the interior of the cartridge 24 to thecapillary fissure 19. The insert 26, which is preferably made of arubber or plastic material, has a cross section whereby a large air vent28 is provided to allow entry of air into the reservoir during use ofthe pen.

During writing, uid flows from the interior of the cartridge 24 alongthe fluid feeding channel 27 to the capillary ssure 19 in feed bar 13.From capillary iissure 19 uid is drawn by capillary attraction tocapillary slit 16 in writing element 15 and follows this slit to itsforward end, which terminates in the writing tip 17.

An expanson chamber comprising combs 29 and comb cuts 30 is formed inthe feed bar 13 in communication with the capillary fissure 19. Theannular comb cuts 30 formed around the feed bar are of such dimensionsthat they will not normally be charged with writing uid but will retainfluid in the event that atmospheric or temperature conditions cause adischarge from the cartridge 24. As the rearward end of feed bar 13 isheld in a substantially air and uid tight relationship with the bore inthe point holder 14, a longitudinal slot 31 of larger than capillarydimensions is provided in the feed bar 13 opposite the capillary fissure19 to provide a path for the escape of air from the rearward comb cutsas they are filled with uid in the event of an excess discharge from thecartridge reservoir. A transverse aperture 32, positioned substantiallyintermediate the ends of the capillary flssure 19, communicates with theatmosphere through one of the comb cuts in feed bar 13 to insure thefree passage of air to the reservoir through air vent 28 as fluid iswith-drawn therefrom during writing.

Annular ring 33 is secured to the gripping section 12 as a means offrictionally or threadedly receiving and re taining a cap, which is notshown in the drawings.

As pointed out previously in this specification, cartridge type penshave been suggested in the art. However, these suggested pens havepresented the disadvantage of having to remove the barrel, or a portionthereof, from the writing element in order to remove or insert a refillcartridge. The part thus removed may easily be dropped or broken ordiiculty may be experienced in properljl aligning the threads whenre-assembling the pen.

The present invention discloses the use of a carrier member 34 which istelescopically mounted within the barrel 10 and longitudinallyextensible through the open rearward end thereof. When extended to theposition shown in Fig. 2 in the drawings, the carrier member 34 willremovably receive the rell cartridge 24 through an aperture 35 whichextends longitudinally of the carrier member. An axially slidablegrasping element 36 is relatively loosely `mounted adjacent the rearwardend of the carrier member 34 and is movable thereonbetween-predetermined limits. The grasping element preferably should bemade of a material similar to that used in the barrel 1t) although, ofcourse, it is understood that other types of materials may be used.Also, the grasping element may be provided with a series of annularridges, indentations or the like, to provide a slip-resistant surfacefor convenient extension and retraction of the carrier member 34 by theuser.

A plunger portion 37 is threadedly or otherwise secured to graspingelement 36 and depends downwardly therefrom to project into the carriermember 34 at its rearward end. In the embodiment shown, an axial bore 38is provided through the rearward end of the carrier member 34 toslidably receive the plunger portion 37 which terminates at its lowerend in an enlarged area 39. The enlarged area 39 thus provides a meansof limiting the rearward motion of the grasping element 36 and plungerportion 37 relative to the carrier member 34, with the abutment of theshoulder 40 of grasping element 36 and the rearward end of the carriermember 34 limiting the fonward motion therebetween.

The lower surface of the plunger portion 37 abuts the rearward end ofthe cartridge 24 as the carrier member 34 is being retracted within thebarrel and impels the cartridge 24 forwardly in the carrier member.During movement of carrier member 34 to the retracted position, acamming action takes place between the cartridge 24 and the rearwardedge of the barrel 10 to move the cartridge 24 inwardly and into axialalignment with the pen, as best illustrated in Figure l. The carriermember 34 is provided with an opening 41 adjacent its forward end toreceive a reduced portion 42 of the cartridge 24. This arrangementprovides a stop for limiting the forward movement of the cartridge 24relative to the carrier member 34.

As the carrier member 34 and the cartridge 24 carried therein approachthe retracted position, the forward end of the cartridge contacts theupper tapered surface of the tube 25. The cartridge 24 is preferablymolded of a relatively resilient and break-resistant plastic. Therefore,as contact pressure between the upper tapered surface of tube 25 and theforward end of cartridge 24 increases, a portion of the forward end ofthe cartridge will be displaced to allow entry of the tube 25 into theinterior of the cartridge 24. As described previously, a series ofcapillary size fissures and slits provide a means of communicating thecartridge with the writing tip 17.

Although the embodiment disclosed in the appended drawings includes acartridge adapted to be pierced by a tube, it is understood that variousother arrangements may be used.

For the convenience of the user in removing an empty cartridge, aresilient member 43 is provided for urging the cartridge transversely ofthe carrier member 34 and the aperture 35` As best seen in Fig. 2, theresilient member in this embodiment is secured to the carrier member 34and normally assumes a position as illustrated. Although this resilientmember is preferably a noncorrosive spring metal, other types ofmaterials may be used as it will normally not come into contact withwriting fluid.

A transversely extending annular flange 44 is provided adjacent theforward end of the carrier member 34 and is adapted to abut theforwardly facing shoulder formed by the internal threaded area at therearward end of the pen barrel 1t?. Thus, the abuttment between theflange 44 and the forwardly facing barrel shoulder forms a stop meansfor limiting the extensible movement of the carrier member 34. Thisthreaded area is also adapted to receive the threaded area of thegrasping element 36 to secure the carrier member 34 in the closedposition.

After a cartridge has been written dry and it is desired to insert afresh cartridge into the pen, the user manually rotates the graspingvelement 36. to `disengage it from the barrel 10, whereafter thegrasping element is pulledv in a rearward direction to extend thecarrier member 34 to the position shown in Fig. 2 in the drawings. Inthis position, the resilient member 43 urges the upper end of thecartridge 24 transversely of the aperture 35 so that it may readily beremoved. The fresh cartridge is then inserted into the carrier member 34through aperture 35 until it contacts the outwardly extending resilientmember 43. The grasping element 36 isl then moved downwardly toward thebarrel of the pen, which action causes the plunger portion 37, graspingelement 36 and enlarged area 39 to move forwardly with respect to thecarrier member 34, abut the rearward end of the cartridge 24 and impelit forwardly into position. At the same time, a camming action is takingplace between the cartridge 24 and the interior of the opening at therearward end of the barrel to move the cartridge inwardly into axialalignment with the carrier member 34. The grasping element 36 is thenthreadedly engaged with the barrel to secure the carrier member 34 andeffect the final downward movement thereof and of the cartridge 24which, as described previously, removably receives the tube 25.

As it will be apparent from the foregoing description, a number ofmodifications could be effected without departing from the scope of thisinvention. It will be understood, therefore, that the invention is notto be limited to the embodiment disclosed herein, and it iscontemplated, by the appended claims, to cover any such modications asfall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim: v

1. A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an open rearward end, awriting element secured to and extending beyond the forward end of saidbarrel, a .carrier member telescopically mounted within said barrel andhaving a longitudinal aperture therein, said carrier member beinglongitudinally extensible through said open rearward end to positionsaid aperture beyond said barrel, a writing fluid cartridge carried bysaid carrier member, said carrier member removably receiving saidcartridge through said aperture when in an extended position, aresilient member secured to and cooperating with said carrier member forurging said cartridge transversely of said aperture, and means providingcommunication between said cartridge and said writing element when saidcarrier member is retracted within said barrel.

2. A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an open rearward end, awriting element secured to and extending beyond the forward end of saidbarrel, a carrier member telescopically mounted within said barrel andhaving a longitudinal aperture therein, said carrier member beinglongitudinally extensible through said open rearward end to positionsaid aperture beyond said barrel, a writing uid cartridge carried bysaid carrier member, said carrier member removably receiving saidcartridge through said aperture when in an extended position, an axiallyslidable element mounted on said carrier member and movable thereonbetween predetermined limits for impelling said cartridge forwardly insaid carrier member, and means providing communication between saidcartridge and said writing element when said carrier member is retractedwithin said barrel and said cartridge is positioned forwardly in saidcarrier.

3. A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an open rearward end, awriting element secured to and extending beyond the forward end of saidbarrel, a carrier member telescopically mounted within said barrel andhaving a longitudinal aperture therein, said carrier member beinglongitudinally extensible through said open rearward end to positionsaid aperture beyond said barrel, stop means associated with said barreland said carrier member for limiting the extensible movement of saidcarrier when said aperture is positioned beyond said barrel, a writinguid cartridge carried by said carrier member, said carriermemberremovably receiving said cartridge through said aperture when in anextended position, and means for detachably engaging said cartridge forcommunication therewith and with said writing element when said carriermember is retracted within said barrel.

4. A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an open rearward end, awriting element secured toand extending beyond the forward end of saidbarrel, a carrier member telescopically mounted within said barrel andhaving a longitudinal aperture therein, said carrier member beinglongitudinally extensible through said open rearward end to positionsaid aperture beyond said barrel, a writing fluid cartridge carried bysaid carrier member, said carrier member removably receiving saidcartridge through said aperture when in an extended position, an axiallyslidable grasping element mounted adjacent the rearward end of saidcarrier member, a plunger portion carried by said slidable element andprojecting into said carrier for impelling said cartridge forwardlytherein upon forward axial movement of said slidable element withrespect to said carrier member, said slidable element being movablebetween predetermined limits for extending and retracting said carriermember, and means for detachably engaging said cartridge forcommunication therewith and with said writing element when said carriermember is retracted within said barrel and said cartridge is positionedforwardly in said carrier.

5. A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an open rearward end, awriting element secured to and extending beyond the forward end of saidbarrel, a carrier member having an open forward end telescopicallymounted within said barrel and having a longitudinal aperture therein,said carrier member being longitudinally extensible through said openrearward end to position said aperture beyond said barrel, a writingHuid cartridge carried by said carrier member, limiting means disposedinternally of said carrier member adjacent said open forward end tolimit forward movement of said cartridge Within said carrier, saidcarrier member being adaptedto removably receive said cartridge throughsaid aperture when in an extended position, and means extending withinsaid open forward end to detachably engage said cartridge, an inserthaving a tluid passageway disposed in said means providing communicationbetween said cartridge and said writing element when said carrier memberis retracted within said barrel.

6. A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an open rearward end, awriting element secured to and extending beyond the forward end of saidbarrel, a carrier member having an open forward end telescopicallymounted within said barrel and having a longitudinal aperture therein,said carrier member being longitudinally extensible through said openrearward end to position said aperture beyond said barrel, stop meansassociated with said barrel and said carrier member for limiting theextensible movement of said carrier, a writing fluid cartridge carriedby said carrier member, limiting means disposed internally of saidcarrier member adjacent said open forward end to limit forward movementof said cartridge within said carrier, said carrier member removablyreceiving said cartridge through said aperture when in an extendedposition, a resilient member secured to and cooperating with saidcarrier member for urging said cartridge transversely of said aperture,an axially slidable grasping element mounted adjacent the rearward endof said carrier member, a plunger portion carried by said slidableelement and projecting into said carrier for impelling said cartridgeforwardly therein upon forward axial movement of said slidable elementwith respect to said carrier member, said slidable element being movablebetween predetermined limits for extending and retracting said carriermember and means extending within said open forward end to detachablyengage said car- 7 tridge, an insert having a fluid passageway disposedin said means providing communication between said cartridge and saidwriting element when said carrier member is retracted within said barreland said cartridge is positioned forwardly in said carrier.

7. A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an open end, a writingelement extending forwardly of said barrel, a carrier membertelescopically mounted within said barrel and having a longitudinalaperture in a side wall thereof, said carrier member beinglongitudinally extensible a predetermined distance through said open endto position said aperture substantially beyond said barrel, a Writingfluid cartridge carried by said carrier member, said cartridge beingremovably received Within said car- 8 rier through said aperture whensaid carrier is in an extended position, and means providing fluidcommunication between said cartridge and said Writing element when saidcarrier member is retracted.

Reerences Cited in the file of this patent UNlT ED STATES PATENTS1,546,491 Kasmauskas July 21, 1925 2,118,221 Montuori May 24, 19382,802,448 Young Aug. 13, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 422,157 Italy June 11,1947

